Nepali Khagendra Thapa Magar was the world’s shortest man till Saturday only. On Sunday, this tile was bestowed on Junrey Balawing from a poor family in the rural Philippines. Guinness World Records declared Balawing the world´s shortest man as he turned 18 and presented him a certificate at his birthday party in the rural town of Sindangan on Mindanao Island in the southern Philippines.

Balawing is more than 7cm shorter than the previous record holder, Khagendra Thapa Magar. Balawing is 59.93cm (23.6 inches) tall. Khagendra had held the record since last October.

Balawing stopped growing when he was two years old and doctors had not been able to say why he stopped growing, his father said.